When making a song in a studio, producers and sound engineers would get small portions of tracks from other songs and mix them in as part of the song. Imagine replicating the riff of a chorus. But instead of playing similarly, you just get the actual sound you want and use it in a song. This technique is often used by DJs while mixing music during a performance. And throughout the history of music, some samples have been used so much that they have become iconic, according to Amsterdam DJ James Haidak. Here are some of the most used samples in music.
“Amen, brother” by The Winstons
Chances are, you’ve never heard of The Winstons as they were a band in the ‘60s. However, they did become influential due to their superb drum work. Their pieces have been sampled over 2,000 times by hundreds of artists around the world including Salt-N-Peppa, Oasis, and NWA. What’s heartbreaking is that the band never received royalties for their solo work.
“Change the Beat” by Beside/Fab 5 Freddy
“Change the Beat” came from In an experimental electropop record made by French producer Jean Caracas and Fab 5 Freddy. Released in the ‘80s, samples from this song have been used over 1,800 times. Popular artists who’ve used samples from this song include Eminem, Macklemore, and Justin Bieber.
“Think (about it)” by Lyn Collins
Written and produced by James Brown, “Think” was released in 1972 as a single. James Haidak says that the songs iconic “Yeah! Woo!” is something we are all familiar with since it has been sampled over 1,500 times by artists like Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, and J Dilla.
James Haidak is no stranger when it comes to performing live. He has played at festivals alongside names such as John Digweed, Nic Fanciulli, Stephan Bodzin, Reinier Zonneveld, Oliver Weiter, Henry Saiz, Kobosil, and many more. He is also very much into saving the environment. For more information on Haidak, visit this page.
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